Title: Shadows: The Myth Awakens
Author: Daniel Harry
Publisher: Dan’s Scribbling
ISBN: 978-0-9600893-1-4
Pages: 317
Genre: Horror / Fiction
Reviewer: Arthur Thares
Author Interview with Daniel Harry
Today, Pacific Book reviewer Arthur Thares is talking with Daniel Harry, author of Shadows: The Myth Awakens.
HBR: What inspired you to write Shadows: The Myth Awakens?
I have always enjoyed watching documentaries on Native Americans and happened upon a documentary about mythical critters of the Coushatta, Alabama, and other tribes that passed or were pushed through east Texas when the Europeans began their movement west. Atipa Tcoba was, and is, one of the mythical monsters from those tribes. The name, Atipa Tcoba, literally translates to “man eater” and the image the tribes invoke is that of an elephant. Other tribes say it resembles a huge bear. I liked the elephant idea and ran with that simply because an elephant had never been seen in the western hemisphere before the early 1800s and the myth had been around for many hundreds of years. As the American Indian tribes do not have a written record, they used drawings and images to record their history, Gods, etc., hence the idea of the silhouette of a huge bull elephant, ears splayed, lurking in the shadows. It was not what it seemed. This is what gave me the initial concept for Shadows-The Myth Awakens.
HBR: Can you share the origin story behind the book’s title?
I learned a valuable lesson on book titles when I wrote Shadows-The Myth Awakens. I originally published it only as “Shadows”, then I Googled how many books were titled “Shadows”. There were over ten thousand books with the word Shadow on the cover. So much for uniqueness and originality. It was too late to completely rename the book so I added “The Myth Awakens”. However, the book was written around the critter hiding in the shadows, so shadows played an integral part of the story. Changing the title to “Evil Critters Where There Ain’t No Light” was nixed immediately (a smiley face is considered as “unprofessional” here, so just imagine one).
From my research about Atipa Tcoba, it seems it only came out at night and survivors only saw the creature’s silhouette in the gloom. The origin of the creature, the method of movement, the way it killed, the chemistry used in making its outer skin once it was above ground, the making of its stabbing and slicing weapons through a chemical reaction, and the conversions of these chemical reactions, so it could retreat underground, were all products of my sick little imagination. The way the creature was finally destroyed actually surprised me.
I have a background in electrical and metallurgy so I’m quite familiar with the conductivity and chemistry required for electrical current, grounding, and metals with enough free electrons to produce a strong electrical charge. My meteorological friends with Houston’s channel 13 Weather helped me with the information on lightning and their different charges. I was truly surprised at the magnitude of a positive lightning strike.
I also have a very dear friend from long ago in my military days, that is an actual tribal “medicine man” from a tribe in the western US, but he has requested to stay anonymous. He was scary in the early ‘70s and even more so today. Not a man you want to betray his anonymity.
HBR: Which character was the most challenging—and the most rewarding—for you to write?
The most challenging character of Shadows-The Myth Awakens was probably the Atipa Tcoba, the creature itself. The sciences behind such a creature were extremely difficult as solving one problem led to two more. Its physical being below ground and the chemical reactions needed to sustain it above ground was a true challenge.
The most rewarding character of Shadows-The Myth Awakens was Rufus. I love animals and have had many pets in my life. Most of my dogs through the years have been extremely intuitive and have been able to warn me of problems arising. I’m not saying they talked to me, I’m saying that, if you are familiar with your animals’ mannerisms and acute senses, their loyalty to their owners will be their main concern and they will endeavor to keep their owner safe. They may not tell you that “Timmy fell down the well” but you will be able to sense that something is wrong.
HBR: Are any of the characters based on real people, or entirely fictional?
All characters are entirely fictional, although, my friends that read the book all state, there is no doubt in their mind who wrote the book. I am a little superstitious and will not include a friend or family member in my stories if they are to become fodder for a fictional monster. That being said, I have no problem including folks I don’t like, in my writing. Some of them deserve to be victims (another imagined smiley face here).
HBR: What was your writing process like for this novel—structured outline or more organic?
Unfortunately, I don’t do outlined stories. I tried it and I can write the story in the time it takes me to outline a manuscript that I am satisfied with. My little pointed head goes off in so many tangents that I have been tempted to be tested for ADHD. Sooo I am stuck being a “seat of the pants” writer and it’s not a bad thing. Most of the authors I follow are organic.
HBR: Did you face any creative blocks during the writing process, and how did you overcome them?
Of course. Anybody that writes anything will run into a mental block occasionally. I usually just step back away from that piece and work on something else till a tangent appears and I can continue. I usually end up with several pages of snippets of things I don’t have a specific place for in the manuscript. I don’t berate myself, I don’t try to force an idea. I just wait till an opportunity reveals itself so I can continue. If I stress and strain over a mental block, the flow will stop completely. Working on a different project usually helps me get around a mental block and if it doesn’t, scrap it.
HBR: Is Shadows: The Myth Awakens part of a series or standalone?
Shadows-The Myth Awakens started as a standalone novel but, by the time I finished it, I left an opening for a continuance of the story.
HBR: What’s next for you as a writer?
I am currently completing two more novels that, hopefully, will be completed and published this year. One is an apocalyptic story where the male mammals are being destroyed by a relentless bacteria and the women of the world trying to save what few men are left.
The other is a war story about our government agencies recruiting and training underage youngsters to carry out dastardly deeds in the early 1970s.
HBR: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?
Be very careful about hiring “editors”. It is my experience that 99% of the, so called, “editors” wouldn’t even make a decent 8th grade English teacher. Editing is expensive and is a necessity but use the tools you have. MS Word has punctuation, grammar, and other editing tools. Do this yourself many times. You will find that many “editors” will try to make your story their own, even if that is not what they were hired to do. I actually had an editor that told me “humor does not belong in a horror novel”. We had some harsh words and she doesn’t work for me anymore. Basically, I paid a LOT of money for a crappy opinion that was not requested.
Every scam in the world wants your money. In the writing world, there are 100X more buzzards than there is a carcass. You are the carcass.
I tried several of the so called “publishers” and most, didn’t even offer a reply. Others wanted me to send them thousands of dollars for the honor of letting them publish my book along with so much excrement about how great your book is and how they can turn you into one of the best sellers. There is a website, https://writerbeware.blog/ that is extremely helpful in preventing scams. They have a listing of known “publishers” that are nothing but liars, thieves, and cheats. Use that list. If a “publisher” is on their list, do NOT do business with them. I promise you will be disappointed.